Food Stamp Usage Rose To A Record 40.8 Million in May

Boston.com reports that the number of Americans who are receiving food stamps hit a record 40.8 million in May, the government reported yesterday.

“Recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program subsidies for food purchases jumped 19 percent from a year earlier and increased 0.9 percent from April, the US Department of Agriculture said in a statement on its website. Participation has set records for 18 straight months. An average of 40.5 million people, more than an eighth of the population, will get food stamps each month in the year that began Oct. 1, according to White House estimates. The figure is projected to rise to 43.3 million in 2011.

An average of 40.5 million people, more than an eighth of the population, will get food stamps each month in the year that began Oct. 1, according to White House estimates.”

The figure is projected to rise to 43.3 million in the next fiscal year.